Markets Right Now: Broad rally takes stocks to new record

NEW YORK – The latest on developments in financial markets (All times local):

4:05 p.m.

Stock indexes closed at record highs for a second day running, in a broad-based rally led by miners and other raw materials companies.

Gold and copper miner Freeport McMoRan rose 2.7 per cent, lifted by soaring copper prices.

Oil companies also rose with crude prices. Newfield Exploration rose 2.1 per cent and Exxon Mobil gained nearly 1 per cent.

The Standard & Poor’s 500 index rose 8 points, or 0.4 per cent, to 2,316.

The Dow Jones industrial average gained 97 points, or 0.5 per cent, to 20,269. The Nasdaq composite rose 19 points, or 0.3 per cent, to 5,734.

Small-company stocks did better than larger ones. The Russell 200 index jumped 10 points, or 0.8 per cent, to 1,388, also a record high.

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11:45 a.m.

Stock indexes are trading at record highs as investors weighed earnings news and the sale of infant formula maker Mead Johnson.

Oil companies led the gainers as the price of crude oil headed higher. Newfield Exploration rose 2.8 per cent and Exxon Mobil gained 1 per cent.

Enfamil maker Mead Johnson rose 5.1 per cent after it agreed to be acquired by Britain’s Reckitt Benckiser for $16.6 billion, or $90 a share.

Skechers jumped 20 per cent after the shoe company’s sales beat analysts’ forecasts.

The Standard & Poor’s 500 index rose 6 points, or 0.3 per cent, to 2,314.

The Dow Jones industrial average gained 68 points, or 0.3 per cent, to 20,240. The Nasdaq composite rose 15 points, or 0.3 per cent, to 5,730.

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9:35 a.m.

Stocks are opening higher on Wall Street as investors found bright spots in the latest company earnings. Major indexes hit record highs a day ago.

Energy companies rose with the price of oil Friday morning.

Infant formula maker Mead Johnson rose 4.7 per cent after it agreed to be acquired by Britain’s Reckitt Benckiser for $16.6 billion, or $90 a share.

Skechers jumped 18 per cent and Activision Blizzard climbed 14 per cent after they reported results that beat analysts’ forecasts.

The Standard & Poor’s 500 index rose 5 points, or 0.2 per cent, to 2,312.

The Dow Jones industrial average gained 51 points, or 0.3 per cent, to 20,223. The Nasdaq composite rose 14 points, or 0.2 per cent, to 5,728.